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Talks are ongoing between Aston Villa and a Championship club for a £10 million attacker.
Norwich City have confirmed talks are underway with Aston Villa over the possibility of extending winger Lewis Dobbin’s loan.
The Canaries are eager to keep Dobbin at Carrow Road for the duration of next season after loaning him since January. Norwich have proved to be a far more suitable home for Dobbin than Villa’s local rivals West Bromwich Albion, who fielded the former Everton man for just 397 minutes in the first half of the season.
All parties realised that the move to West Brom was a mistake and Dobbin’s loan was cut short in January. The 22-year-old was immediately sent to Norwich instead and he racked up more than double his Albion minutes in a far shorter period before a calf injury unfortunately ended his season.
Dobbin had made a great start to life at Norwich before his injury, scoring twice in his first 11 appearances – against Swansea City and Stoke City. The 22-year-old started eight of the 11 matches, becoming a key member of Johannes Hoff Thorup’s attacking trio before the head coach was sacked.
Norwich, hoping they haven’t seen the last of Dobbin in green and yellow, have already opened talks with Villa over a potential loan extension. The Canaries confirmed in a club statement - outlining their retained and released players - that discussions with Villa are ongoing.
It awaits to be seen how the Villans see the situation, but it’s unlikely they’d be against Dobbin heading back to Carrow Road. Unai Emery doesn’t see the £10 million signing - brought in mainly for PSR purposes - as a player who can have an impact in the first team just yet, so another loan is a viable solution.
Aston Villa plan to sell star after Preston North End stint
Another Villa player to have spent the season on loan in the Championship, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, is expected to be sold this summer. Birmingham World understands the right-back isn’t in Emery’s plans despite impressing at Preston North End this campaign.
Kesler-Hayden, a five-time former England under-20 international, played 44 of Preston’s 46 Championship matches, contributing two goals and three assists. The 22-year-old played 51 times in total, adding a further seven appearances across the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Villa are a little light in depth at right-back but sales are required this summer to avoid troubles with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). As Kesler-Hayden is an academy product, a sale would generate pure profit in respect to PSR and he’s a player Emery is willing to sacrifice.
It’s understood that Villa see Kesler-Hayden as capable of playing in a top Championship team or a relegation-battling Premier League side. Preston would love to bring in Kesler-Hayden permanently but interest is already building from clubs above the North End’s current level.
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